The Revolt of 1857: Causes, Centres, Failure and the Act of 1858

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Political and economic causes

The Revolt of 1857 drew on grievances built up over a century. The Doctrine of Lapse and the annexation of Awadh (1856) alarmed princes and nobles; Nana Sahib's pension had been stopped, and the Mughal family was told that after Bahadur Shah II the imperial title would end and the family would have to leave the Red Fort. High land revenue, the loss of estates by Awadh's taluqdars in the settlement of 1856 and the ruin of artisans spread distress through the countryside.

Social, religious and military causes

Many Indians feared that the British meant to convert them to Christianity; missionary activity, a law that let converts inherit ancestral property, and reforms such as the abolition of sati and the Widow Remarriage Act (1856) were read in that light. The sepoys had their own grievances: low pay and few chances of promotion, the withdrawal of the foreign service allowance (batta) for service in Sindh and Punjab, and Canning's General Service Enlistment Act (1856), which bound new recruits to serve overseas, a journey many high-caste sepoys considered polluting. The immediate cause was the new Enfield rifle, whose cartridges had to be bitten open and were rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat.

Outbreak at Barrackpore and Meerut

At Barrackpore, Mangal Pandey of the 34th Native Infantry attacked his officers on 29 March 1857 and was hanged on 8 April. At Meerut, 85 sepoys of the 3rd Light Cavalry who had refused the cartridges were sentenced and paraded in fetters on 9 May; on 10 May their comrades rose, freed them, killed their officers and marched to Delhi, where on 11 May they proclaimed the aged Bahadur Shah II emperor of Hindustan. The revolt then spread across the Ganga plain and central India.

Centres and leaders

At Delhi the real command lay with Bakht Khan, who came from Bareilly. At Kanpur Nana Sahib led, with Tantia Tope and Azimullah Khan. At Lucknow Begum Hazrat Mahal proclaimed her son Birjis Qadir the Nawab, and Henry Lawrence died defending the Residency. Rani Lakshmibai led at Jhansi, Kunwar Singh of Jagdishpur, about 80 years old, at Arrah in Bihar, Khan Bahadur Khan at Bareilly, Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah at Faizabad and Liaqat Ali at Allahabad. The British recaptured Delhi in September 1857 after a long siege in which John Nicholson was killed; Hodson captured Bahadur Shah and shot the Mughal princes, and the emperor was exiled to Rangoon, where he died in 1862. Colin Campbell recovered Kanpur (December 1857) and Lucknow (March 1858), Havelock and Outram having relieved the Residency earlier. Hugh Rose took Jhansi in April 1858; the Rani escaped to Kalpi, joined Tantia Tope, seized Gwalior with him and died fighting near Gwalior in June 1858. Kunwar Singh died in April 1858, and Tantia Tope, betrayed and captured, was hanged in April 1859.

Why the revolt failed

It was confined mainly to north and central India; Punjab, most of Bengal and the south stayed largely quiet. Most big princes, including Scindia, Holkar, the Nizam and the Rajput rulers, and Jang Bahadur of Nepal helped the British, and Canning called the loyal princes breakwaters to the storm. Sikh and Gurkha troops fought for the British. The modern educated class stayed aloof, the rebels had no unified leadership or common programme beyond restoring the old order, and they faced a power with better weapons, the telegraph, ample money and command of the sea. Historians still debate its nature: British writers called it the Sepoy Mutiny, V.D. Savarkar's book of 1909 called it the First War of Indian Independence, R.C. Majumdar held it was neither first, nor national, nor a war of independence, and S.N. Sen's official centenary history Eighteen Fifty-Seven (1957) saw a mutiny that took on a political character.

Act of 1858 and the Queen's Proclamation

The Government of India Act 1858 (the Act for the Better Government of India) ended the rule of the East India Company and transferred power to the British Crown. A Secretary of State for India, a member of the British cabinet assisted by a 15-member Council of India, took over the powers of the Board of Control and the Court of Directors, both abolished; Lord Stanley was the first. The Governor-General also became the Viceroy, the Crown's representative, Canning being the first. Queen Victoria's Proclamation, read by Canning at a durbar at Allahabad on 1 November 1858, promised no further annexations, respect for the rights and dignity of princes, non-interference in religion, equal access to public office regardless of race or creed, and pardon to rebels except those guilty of murdering British subjects.

Changes in the army and policy

The army was reorganised on the advice of the Peel Commission: the proportion of European troops was raised, artillery was kept in European hands, and Indian regiments were mixed by caste, community and region so that they could not unite again. The policy of annexation gave way to preserving princely states as allies, and the British increasingly played communities against one another, a policy described as divide and rule.

Key facts

Mangal Pandey (34th Native Infantry) attacked his officers at Barrackpore on 29 March 1857 and was hanged on 8 April; the revolt proper began at Meerut on 10 May 1857.
The Meerut sepoys reached Delhi on 11 May 1857 and proclaimed Bahadur Shah II emperor; Bakht Khan led the rebel army at Delhi.
Centres and leaders: Kanpur - Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope; Lucknow - Begum Hazrat Mahal; Jhansi - Rani Lakshmibai; Arrah - Kunwar Singh; Bareilly - Khan Bahadur Khan; Faizabad - Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah.
British commanders: Delhi - Nicholson and Hodson; Kanpur and Lucknow - Colin Campbell, with Havelock and Outram; Jhansi - Hugh Rose.
Immediate cause: greased cartridges of the Enfield rifle. Military causes also included the General Service Enlistment Act of 1856, which required overseas service.
Fates: Bahadur Shah exiled to Rangoon (died 1862); Rani Lakshmibai died fighting near Gwalior (June 1858); Tantia Tope hanged in April 1859.
Views: First War of Indian Independence - V.D. Savarkar (1909); Eighteen Fifty-Seven - S.N. Sen (1957); R.C. Majumdar - neither first, nor national, nor a war of independence.
Act of 1858: Company rule ended; Secretary of State for India with a 15-member Council of India; Lord Stanley the first Secretary of State; Canning the first Viceroy.
Queen's Proclamation, 1 November 1858, read by Canning at Allahabad: no more annexations, religious non-interference, equal access to public office, pardon for most rebels.

Quick revision

Causes: Lapse, Awadh 1856, General Service Enlistment Act 1856, greased Enfield cartridges; Mangal Pandey at Barrackpore 29 Mar 1857; Meerut 10 May; Delhi 11 May, Bahadur Shah II; Kanpur - Nana Sahib, Lucknow - Hazrat Mahal, Jhansi - Lakshmibai, Arrah - Kunwar Singh; Tantia Tope hanged 1859; failed - limited spread, loyal princes, no common plan; Act of 1858 - Crown rule, Secretary of State; Queen's Proclamation 1 Nov 1858

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